The Advantage Of Clear Fly Line

Jun 07, 2018

At Monic, we routinely receive phone calls and messages from people telling us how much they like the fly lines. Over time, we tend to create digital friendships with these folks as we become a part of their experience on the waters they fish. One gentleman in particular, of Colombian descent, has been with us for some time now. While I have never met Dr. Gonzalo Vargas in the flesh, his stories and assistance continue to brighten our days.

This morning, I was greeted with several minutes of dictation on a voicemail that chronicled Dr. Vargas’s experience with the largest speckled trout of his fishing career. Here is the story.

I retired recently and have had the time to roam the Texas Bay around Houston where I live. I fish here almost exclusively sight casting to redfish in shallow water. There is a strong sentiment in Texas to catch large speckled trout in the winter months. This is usually done with lures and conventional tackle.

As I have time now, I started looking for them while I push pole the bays famous for harboring large speckled trout. These are those that are over 27-inches long and 7lbs, which are considered a trophy and are absolutely gorgeous fish. In late November, I found 4 or 5 very large speckled trout in a small cove in about 3 feet of water. They moved away gently and I kept on going. I came back later, and to my surprise, they were in the same pothole that I had found them before. It was late in the day, so I decided to come back another day when I could see well.

That night I consulted with two fly fishing experts who mainly target the trout. See, I never fish for them before as I didn’t have time to do it. Both of them told me that the most important thing was the stealth in the approach. They are very spooky, and once they sense you, they will not take any offering. They also say, use large (5 or 6 inch long) streamers (deceivers or seaducers). I chose a 6-inch seaducer of pink and white (pink is a very good color for trophy trout). For the stealth of presentation, I picked up Monic Covert Clear floating fly line. The next clear, sunny day was two-days later so I went back. I went poling slowly and gently and spotted one large trout facing away from me. After a couple of casts, the wind caught my line and the line landed exactly on top of the trout. The clear line, with a lot of fortune, did not spook the trout. I retrieved gently the streamer and cast again, and it was a good cast.

After stripping the fly past the trout, he took it solidly. What a thrill!

Once landed, he was 27 ¾” long and a line short of 8 pounds—the biggest trout I ever caught on any tackle. Of course, I released the fish after taking a selfie, as I was by myself; the only person on the boat.

When I got home, my wife asked me, “how was your day?” With the biggest smile I told her, “when the German (Alzheimer) gets a hold of me, I will still remember today.”

This great memory was possible because of the stealth characteristics of the Monic clear floating line that saved me from spooking this wonderful fish.